Google's Live Spam Screenshots Highlight ‘Useless’ Web Pages

Google has launched a new website called How Search Works. One feature SEOs may want to check out is the Fighting Spam section, which shares a stream of real examples of “pure spam” pages that Google has identified and removed from search results.

On the site, Google explains that to combat the "millions of useless spam pages" created every day, it identifies and fights spammy techniques (e.g., keyword stuffing, paid links, invisible text) through a mix of algorithmic (computer) and manual (human) reviews.

Before launching into nearly 50 recent examples of real web pages identified as spam, Google explains: “These pages are examples of 'pure spam.' They appear to use aggressive spam techniques such as automatically generated gibberish, cloaking and scraping content from other websites.” You are also warned that the screenshots are generated automatically and could turn up some offensive, sexually explicit, or violent content.

While Google will never be accused of offering concrete examples of what exactly a high-quality website or page is, Google’s Live Spam section will definitely give you a feel for what not to do when creating your web pages and websites if you want any hope of appearing in Google’s search results.

About the author

Danny Goodwin formerly was Associate Editor of Search Engine Watch, where he also covered the latest search marketing and industry news. He joined Incisive Media in October 2007, in charge of copy editing columns that appeared on both Search Engine Watch and ClickZ. Prior to a life in the search industry, he worked in the journalism field, working in numerous newsroom positions, before later working as a freelance copy editor.

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